Big Tree Country 25/11 to 2/12

The South Coast Highway swings away from the coast as it heads east from Augusta. The going gets more undulating to hilly the nearer you get to Pemberton and you soon begin to notice how large the trees are becoming. Pemberton owes much of its existence to forestry and logging and has the largest sawmill in the country where they process sawlogs from the large Karri tree forests surrounding the town. We set up camp in the picturesque caravan park before doing some exploring. Firstly we had a trip on a quaint little tram out into the forest, learning quite a lot from the informative commentary. Next it was a drive out to the N.P. and a challenge for me was to climb the Gloucester Tree. This giant Karri tree has a fire lookout 60 metres above the ground that you access by climbing the steel pegs driven into trunk. It was a challenge both physically and mentally because I am not that fond of heights. Sue declined the challenge and waited patiently on the bench at the base while I enjoyed the view from the top. We rounded off our exploration of Pemberton with a drive through the magnificent forests and a visit to Beedelup Falls.

On the way to our next destination of Walpole we passed through the small town of Northcliffe where there is an unusual sculpture walk through the forest behind the visitor centre. This audio-guided walk takes up to an hour as you gaze at the contemporary works of art while listening to the artist’s impressions from the supplied Mp3 player. That night we camped at the well-appointed campground in Shannon N.P. Upon reaching Walpole we stayed a little out of town at the Peaceful Bay caravan park. The most well known attraction in the area is the Valley of the Giants and tree top walk where we ascended into the canopy along the elevated walkway to get an entirely different perspective of the forest. The other main attractions are the Giant Tingle trees just out of town. A walk through this grove of trees is an eye opener because you actually walk right through the hollowed out trunks of these still living trees. In fact you could easily drive a car through a couple of them. The whole area around Walpole is very attractive with the densely wooded hillsides coming almost right down to the dark cool waters of the Walpole and Nornalup inlets.

We took a break from our southwest journey at Parry Beach just outside the small town of Denmark. The local council runs a camping area almost on the beach with flush toilets and solar showers all for the princely sum of just $7.00 per site per night. We liked it so much we stayed for 3 nights, which allowed us to explore the delightful scenery of the Denmark area. If you ever visit this area make sure you do not miss Green’s Pool and Elephant Cove – just fantastic, and Lights beach is well worth a look too! Denmark is an attractive and friendly town and would cater to all the needs of any traveller. We can especially recommend the multi award-winning bakery for some very good pies and pastries. Oh, and don’t forget to stop in at the visitor centre to check out the worlds largest barometer.